About Me

I now live in Victoria, after a couple years on the North Shore of Vancouver, and a (too) brief time in the prairies. Working as an artist, mother and wife (not necessarily in that order), i am striving to live well, to find the truth of God in all things, and to pass on this truth to others.

Monday, March 4, 2013

i'm a cave girl

so, i went to a naturopath on friday regarding my 'issues' (if you read this blog often you'll know what they are). she suggested i go on the "paleo" diet, otherwise knows as the 'caveman' diet, as a sort of elimination of all foods that might in the least way be problematic for me. this is a pretty popular eating regime at the moment, based on the fact that cavemen were a much healthier human race than our current average homosapien. here's a little explanation i found online at "nerdfitness.com".

You see, tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice meals, our ancient ancestors thrived as hunter-gatherers. Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t changed that much since then. The average Homo Sapien back then: tall, muscular, agile, athletic, and incredibly versatile.The average Homo Sapien now: overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep deprived and dying from a myriad of preventable diseases.So what the hell happened? Agriculture! A few thousand years ago humans discovered farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers. We settled down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today.

so, according to this diet philosophy if we all eat like cavemen and exercise more we will return to our pre-agricultural fitness levels. i see a little problem. although i'm now eating as a hunter-gatherer, i am neither hunting nor gathering (unless you can call a trip to costco gathering, which, after hunting for a parking spot, making my way through the jungle of options without going bankrupt, braving the cash lines, and running my son over with the cart in the parking lot, seems to come close). i don't think my 20 minutes of jillian micheals will compare with a life of foraging for berries and chasing down wild boar.

another thought, these ancestors of ours weren't only hunter-gatherers, they were hunted and gathered. the weekly run-from-the-hungry-t-rex must have been great for muscular endurance! i think they would gladly trade their healthy lifestyle of losing a limb to a giant predator for some tv and nachos.

and writing a letter in stone - that takes muscles!

obviously i'm a bit cynical, and more than a little ticked off that now when we're invited to some one's house for dinner i have to say we're "gluten-, dairy-, tree nut-, grain-, and sugar-free". that's more than two ENTIRE food groups people. coming up with a meal list this week felt like a herculean effort. but it's done, and here's hoping my son quickly gets over his aversion to green foods.

and that i can say goodbye to cheese. sniff. when the naturopath said "no dairy" i put my head down on her desk and said "give me a moment to adjust".

i think this calls for a haiku.

goodbye cheese.

even though you make

me gasey, i do love you.

boursin, cheddar, brie.

glad i cannot have

a cracker or i'd miss you

terribly. good bye.

thankfully, this is only for the next six weeks. at least, that's the current plan. i was hoping to celebrate easter with chocolate (what could be holier?), but my lent will have to live on a little longer.

there is a silver lining i suppose: i can still eat bacon. if you're in the area, feel free to stop in for the bacon-wrapped vegetable of the day, and if you're lucky i'll let you see my six-pack once it arrives.

2 comments:

While I haven't gone full paleo myself (thought I have toyed with the idea...its mostly the cheese issue!), I did leave wheat/gluten behind a year ago come April, and I'm slowly cutting out refined sugars. I've not only become lighter, I FEEL lighter! And that's without a crazy exercise regime...I've still got to work on that part!I bought a very interesting and helpful book called "Practical Paleo" by Diane Fillipo which might help you transition. Plus, the recipes in there are really yummy!

to remember: homewood

lady in red

all things bright and beautiful

grasslands 2

dressed in white

oil on canvas, 2013, 18x18, $325

thistle at twilight

oil on canvas, 24x36, 2013, sold

grasslands

oil and acrylic on canvas, 2013, 12x24, sold

COME TO US, ABIDE WITH US, OUR LORD, EMMANUEL

The empty chair is one that guests usually sit in when we host. The vantage point is from my couch where I sit in the mornings and spend time with God – through the window is our front yard, our neighbourhood. The telescope draws my eye out, out of my little world of home and family and into the lives of my neighbours (metaphorically speaking!). This is where I long for Christ to be incarnated through me - in my home, through my hospitality, and in my neighbourhood. This is where I pray "O come, O come Emmanuel".

a vision of homewood

will be auctioned in the camp homewood fundraiser

invitation

oil on canvas, 30x40, 2012, $960

promise

oil on canvas, 20x24, $480

fulfillment

oil on canvas, 2012, 18x24, nfs

attached

oil on canvas, 2012, 30x40, $960

resiliant 2

oil on canvas, 2012, SOLD

fields of gold

oil on canvas, 2012, sold

resiliant

oil on canvas, 2011, 18x24, sold

overlooked

oil on canvas, 2012, SOLD

diaspora

oil on canvas, 2011, SOLD

open up

Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched.Henri Nouwen